A Marine’s 6-Step Plan to Getting Mentally Tough

There is a pretty simple reason that men who serve in the military have impressive physiques: If you are diligent and dedicated with your workouts, you are going to get stronger. The same is true about the training of your mind, but there are a lot of people spending hours in the gym while spending zero time building up their mental state. This realization inspired Marine veteran Andrew Wittman to take what he learned in the Corps and bring it to the rest of us, in the form of the Mental Toughness Training Center.

“The brain may not technically be a muscle, but it functions like one, and you need to work it out,” says Wittman. “I personally believe that making time for mental work is harder than going to the gym. It is also harder to encourage, because unlike a physical transformation, it can be more difficult to see the results of your work.” Here are some principles from Wittman to help you get started in building up your mental toughness.